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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. ball — a dance
  4. branch — a division
  5. rash — a series
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. clip — a video
  10. ball — a great time
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. tube — the underground
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. chip — to eat
  16. rash — hasty
  17. wake — a trail
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — for paper
  20. snap — to click
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. chip — for betting
  24. tube — a container

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com